Acting like a warm blanket, the secon­dary func­tions are wrapped around the three halls of Noor­der­parkbad.

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Pavi­lion in the park

The swim­ming pool Noor­der­parkbad in Amsterdam is a free-stan­ding buil­ding with an airy appearance that invites the public to step inside. By focu­sing on easing the tran­si­tion between land­scape and buil­ding and brea­king down the typi­cally large scale of a pool accom­mo­da­tion, Noor­der­parkbad is empha­sized as a pavi­lion in the park.

The softly shaped volumes and curved rain curtain are the media­tors between buil­ding and park. Two stacked volumes deter­mine the shape of the buil­ding. By moving the upper volume to the rear the buil­ding blends well with the scale of the park as well as the resi­den­tial area. In addi­tion, the setback enables the pene­tra­tion of daylight deep into the buil­ding.

Wavy rain curtain

The wavy rain curtain is the most striking element of the Noor­der­parkbad. Prima­rily an educa­tional element, it commu­ni­cates how closely the swim­ming pool is connected to water.

On a rainy day, the water flows like a water­fall trick­ling down the curtain and lets the visitor see how rain­water becomes bathing water.

On sunny days the curtain shim­mers like a congealed cascade, while on wintry days the ice crys­tals trans­form the buil­ding into an ice palace. Also, the curtain thea­tri­cally marks the entrances to the pool: it is pulled up and guides the visitor into the buil­ding.